A Glasgow junior football club has ditched plans to change their name to Caledonian Thistle, a move welcomed by the Scottish Championship side in Inverness with the same moniker.
Rossvale JFC, of the West of Scotland First Division, contacted the Scottish Football Association (SFA) last month to discuss the issue of being rebranded Caledonian Thistle.
However, after discussions with ICT who had objected to the plans, they have now confirmed that they will now be changing their name to Caledonian Locomotives FC.
The Inverness club said in a statement on Saturday night: “This follows very amicable and constructive discussions last week and also over the long Easter weekend between ICT chief executive officer Scot Gardiner and chairman of Rossvale JFC, Dom McInally.
The club is pleased to hear that Rossvale JFC of the West of Scotland First Division have confirmed that they will now be changing their name to Caledonian Locomotives FC.
Full Statement 👉 https://t.co/vLH7Zihv0D pic.twitter.com/4GJAm4ZJjT
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 22, 2023
‘Football family’ helped fix problem
Gardiner thanked McInally for reaching a new course of action, which suited both parties.
He said: “Having spoken to Dom at length, I understood the pressures they had been put under due to no fault of their own and Dom also understood the position we would have to take, but it is good when the football family can come together to solve a problem instead of exacerbating a difficult situation and that is exactly what happened here.
“We wish the Caledonian Locomotives all the very best in the future and we hope to meet them at some stage in the near future in the spirit of football.”
Rossvale thank ICT for their support
Rossvale JFC are originally from Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire, but now play in the Springburn area of Glasgow, play in the West of Scotland Football League (WoSFL) First Division, which is the seventh tier of Scottish football.
The club, whose logo contains a thistle, wanted to be called Caledonian Thistle as a nod to the Caledonian Railway Company, which established Glasgow Works, a railway rolling stock heavy maintenance and repair works facility.
They felt this name switch would help the club “integrate” into the Springburn community, where they have played for eight seasons.
Rossvale JFC have issued a statement stating their regret and how the issue was handled and thanked the Highland club for their support and understanding.
It said: “After the announcement regarding our club’s decision to change our name to Caledonian Thistle Football Club, there was a large amount of criticism and negativity surrounding the decision and the reasons on how we chose this new name.
“Inevitably, not everyone was in favour of our name change and we regret we did not communicate our rationale clearer or in advance of the new identity being revealed.
This Statement is a proposal subject to agreement from the @OfficialWoSFL & The @ScottishFA pic.twitter.com/FYn40cNhZY
— ROSSVALE FOOTBALL CLUB (@RossvaleJFC) April 22, 2023
“It has been an important learning experience and we are thankful of those who have reached out to support our ultimate aim to create an identity that enables us to be a welcoming and inclusive part of our community; and a club fuelled by the legacy of its past.
“I would like to place on record my thanks to Inverness Caledonian Thistle for their understanding throughout a process which has helped us reach an alternative name, one that we believe better achieves the stated objectives.
“We are proud to announce that we have submitted the necessary requests to be called Caledonian Locomotives FC, a name inspired by the past and inspiring to the future success of our club and our community.”
The club said their statement is proposal subject to agreement from the West of Scotland League and the Scottish FA.
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